Hamden man with history of manufacturing explosives, fireworks charged with possession of explosives

A Hamden man with a lengthy history with fireworks and explosives, including a past conviction, was indicted last week on charges he was in possession of explosives again this spring.

Kenneth Lupoli, 57, was charged with one count of possession of explosives by a convicted felon after he allegedly had several explosives — including fireworks, fuses and salutes, a type of firework designed to make a very loud bang — at the end of May, the U.S. attorney’s office announced.

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Lupoli was arrested Sept. 6 and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Spector in federal court in New Haven.

The indictment charging Lupoli lists few details about what he was doing with the fireworks this summer, but he previously has been convicted of criminal possession of a firearm and was arrested and ultimately convicted in 2012 of mass-producing fireworks inside his Hamden home.

During that case, the bomb squad seized a “large amount” of illegal fireworks and manufacturing materials, including mortar tubes and explosive powders, police said at the time. He also has been convicted of criminal possession of a firearm, prosecutors said.

Lupoli also was involved in a 1990 fireworks display accident in Torrington that injured 18 spectators and led to a change in state law regulating fireworks launching tubes and launch charges.

Lupoli was a 29-year-old fireworks technician at the time when launching tube for an aerial firework fell out of place and fired into the crowd at Torrington's Fuessenich Park, news reports from the time indicated. A Winsted toddler was seriously hurt and permanently scarred by burns to his face and hip from the explosion.

Criminal assault charges against Lupoli were considered at the time but ultimately dropped when prosecutors determined there was no precedent for them, the Courant reported at the time. A series of lawsuits brought by the victims were settled.